Flashback: Stephen Hawking Warned AI Could Mean the 'End of the Human Race in Years Leading Up to His Death

Long before Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a letter warning that artificial intelligence poses "profound risks" to humanity, British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking had been sounding the alarm on the rapidly evolving technology.

"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC in an interview in 2014.

Hawking, who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for more than 55 years, died in 2018 at the age of 76. Though he had critical remarks on AI, he also used a very basic form of the technology in order to communicate due to his disease, which weakens muscles and required Hawking to use a wheelchair.

Hawking was left unable to speak in 1985 and relied on various ways to communicate, including a speech-generating device run by Intel, which allowed him to use facial movements to select words or letters that were synthesized to speech.